When Torontonians Stuart and Cindy Forbes decided they needed a place to escape to when life got too hectic, they built a cottage on Sturgeon Lake, about two hours northeast of the city.
But like many people who contemplate building vacation homes these days, they wanted to leave as small an environmental footprint as possible, yet have a hideaway with all the modern-day comforts and luxuries.
To do that, the couple turned to a structure from a bygone era - the log cabin.
Today's advanced, highly engineered log house - which is increasingly being marketed as the quintessential "green" building - is a far cry from the dark and cramped structures of Canada's early pioneers. Those homes were often no more than randomly stacked logs requiring mud - even buffalo dung - to fill cracks and holes in an often futile attempt to keep the elements at bay.
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The Forbes's cottage was built by Confederation Log Homes, one of Canada's largest log-home builders whose products are now exported around the world.
The company, based in Bobcaygeon, Ont., uses computers, laser-guided milling, and modern jointing techniques to make its log homes, but according to president Rick Kinsman, old-fashioned craftsmanship is still important. And so is protecting forests.
"Since my family and I have chosen to live amongst nature, and one day I hope to pass on my business to my children, many of my business decisions are grounded in the need to preserve this natural resource," Mr. Kinsman says.
"We carefully select our logs only from managed and sustainable forests, and the trees are harvested during the winter when the forest is dormant. And the logs are naturally dried using no more than the cycles of nature."
Confederation Log Homes employs a number of techniques to make sure its dwellings stand up to the elements - unique dovetail corners, tongue-and-groove designs and a strapping system that allows the walls to be tightened after the home is built. And with the inherent thermal mass characteristics of the white pine logs the company uses, the homes are surprisingly air tight.
"Our structures have naturally attained an R-2000 [insulation] rating," Mr. Kinsman says.
Cindy Forbes points out that in addition to her cottage being comfortable, it's pleasing to the nose as well as the eye. "When we have our friends stay over, it's inevitable that we catch them staring at the logs and taking deep breaths as they draw in the aroma of the wood. They say visiting our log home is therapeutic for them."
Mr. Kinsman notes that log homes are also getting more attention because they minimize exposure to the high levels of gases emitted by volatile organic compounds commonly found in materials used in conventionally built houses.
Duncan Morris, president of Traditional Log Homes Ltd., based in Salmon Arm, B.C., took the environmental factor to an even higher level recently when he built his own log home.
A passionate advocate of eco-friendly dwellings, he used trees that had been charred in forest fires but were still structurally sound.
Additionally, the floors were built using wood from a nearby dismantled apple-packing house; the internal beams were made from old barn beams; and the exterior was treated with a product called Penefin, made from crushed Brazilian rosewood nuts.
"My home will last at least 400 years," he says.
He's been influenced by the eco-movements in other countries, especially Germany, where green building practices are now quite mainstream.
"I was fascinated by the work of German scientist Dr. Anton Schneider, whose research indicates that living in a log home is healthier because wood is the most natural building material available - it does everything from regulate moisture to filter harmful vapours and gases, including radioactivity."
Dr. Schneider is the founding director of the Institute of Building Biology & Ecology in Neubeuern, Ger. His research influenced Mr. Morris's building practices right down to the details. For instance, he now fastens logs using hardwood dowels (from Quebec) instead of steel and uses lamb's wool as insulation instead of fibreglass.
John Boys, a spokesman for the International Log Builders' Association in Lumby, B.C., says that North Americans are just beginning to wake up to the benefits of eco-friendly dwellings.
Having recently returned from building a log home in Denmark, he says the Europeans have embraced a movement they call "bau-biologie," which translates as "building biology."
The work of Dr. Schneider - with its emphasis on the advantages of building with natural materials such as wood, clay and straw - is a cornerstone to this movement, Mr. Boys explains.
The movement is also in evidence on the East Coast.
Roger Ellis, president of Heartwood Log Homes, based in Margaretsville, N.S., says his handcrafted log homes are "very energy efficient."
As an example, he cites a home he built a few years ago in New Hampshire. "The homeowners applied for certification under the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Star rating system. Their log home achieved a five-star-plus rating, the highest possible. [It] meant that this log home is 50 per cent more energy-efficient than the standard home," Mr. Ellis says.
Meanwhile, John Godden, a building consultant in Southern Ontario and a member of the Canada Green Building Council, suggests even if you own a log home, there's more you can do. Owners should not forget to incorporate such things as energy-efficient appliances, lighting and furnaces; as well as high-efficiency windows. They should even consider investing in alternative energy sources such as solar and wind to create a truly environmentally friendly, energy-efficient home.
With the growing demand for eco-products, home builders and those that supply them, including the forest industry, are vying for the coveted green seal of approval.
The Canadian Wood Council (CWC), for example, is aggressively promoting wood as the only building product that is renewable, biodegradable, recyclable, energy-efficient and yet beautiful.
The council has even rolled out facts and figures to back up its claims. One of its reports, entitled "Green by Design: Renewable, Durable, Sustainable Wood," states that steel and concrete require, respectively, 2.4 and 1.7 times more energy than wood to produce, and emit 1.45 and 1.81 times more greenhouse gas. (The latter numbers reflect emissions over the entire life of the product - from extraction to manufacturing to the life span of the structure in which they have been incorporated.)
Mr. Boys of the International Log Builders' Association points out that the simple log - which grows naturally and produces oxygen as a byproduct - can replace Styrofoam, fibreglass, vapour barriers, drywall and interior paint, as well as the frame and various types of outer shells.
Or as Dr. Schneider put it: "Wood, no matter how much it has been squared, cut or planed, somehow still remains alive ... [and] ... log buildings harmonize so wonderfully with their mountainous and forested surroundings."
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